Discussion:
roaming profile merging help!
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IT Team @ Queensbridge.bham.sch.uk
2009-07-13 11:59:01 UTC
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Hi

I have some problems with a roaming profile for a teacher at our school and
was wondering if someone could provide some assistance.

This is how it works over here:

Each member of staff who has a roaming profile has an entry in AD users and
computers under the profile path in profile which says
\\servername\teacherprofile$\nameofuser

On the server where all the roaming profiles are stored there is a folder
for each user and in their are the profile objects. Each user has full
control to their profile folder.

One particular user is having a right nightmare, basically his profile was
so big that we had to delete it and recreate a new one. So what I did was
create a new folder in the profile area with a new name and then told AD to
point to that new name.

So initially it began working and profile was small and everything was well,
but for some reason now all of the original objects have now reappeared
again!! I dont know how this could happen because i used a different profile
name so even if the teacher logged onto a machine which had his old big
profile on there I was expecting that it wouldn't reference to it because it
was a different name.

I have tried everything I can think of and am not getting anywhere with
this. Any advice on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks e had to delete it and recreate a new one. So what I did was create a
new folder in the profile area with a new name and then told AD to point to
that new name.

So initially it began working and profile was small and everything was well,
but for some reason now all of the original objects have now reappeared
again!! I dont know how this could happen because i used a different profile
name so even if the teacher logged onto a machine which had his old big
profile on there I was expecting that it wouldn't reference to it because it
was a different name.

I have tried everything I can think of and am not getting anywhere with
this. Any advice on this would be most appreciated.

Thanks
Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]
2009-07-13 12:47:02 UTC
Permalink
Post by IT Team @ Queensbridge.bham.sch.uk
Hi
I have some problems with a roaming profile for a teacher at our
school and was wondering if someone could provide some assistance.
Each member of staff who has a roaming profile has an entry in AD
users and computers under the profile path in profile which says
\\servername\teacherprofile$\nameofuser
On the server where all the roaming profiles are stored there is a
folder for each user and in their are the profile objects. Each user
has full control to their profile folder.
One particular user is having a right nightmare, basically his
profile was so big that we had to delete it and recreate a new one.
Youch. If this is happening it means you aren't using folder redirection via
group policy, which is an absolute MUST if you use roaming profiles (and
even if you don't, really). And if it's happening you could easily have made
the profile smaller by deleting or moving out large items (e.g., desktop
crap, etc)
Post by IT Team @ Queensbridge.bham.sch.uk
So what I did was create a new folder in the profile area with a new
name and then told AD to point to that new name.
What I normally do if I have profile problems is to rename the server copy
of the profile
Post by IT Team @ Queensbridge.bham.sch.uk
So initially it began working and profile was small and everything
was well
I don't understand that, as the locally cached one (which is still large)
should've been written to the server. Unless you also deleted the local
cached copy.
Post by IT Team @ Queensbridge.bham.sch.uk
, but for some reason now all of the original objects have
now reappeared again!! I dont know how this could happen because i
used a different profile name so even if the teacher logged onto a
machine which had his old big profile on there I was expecting that
it wouldn't reference to it because it was a different name.
It's the same name and the same user profile will get uploaded. Doesn't
matter what you called it on the server. :)
Post by IT Team @ Queensbridge.bham.sch.uk
Thanks
My boilerplate on roaming profiles is below. If you follow it very carefully
you should have minimal problems with profiles.

********************
General tips:

1. Set up a share on the server. For example - d:\profiles, shared as
profiles$ to make it hidden from browsing. Make sure this share is *not* set
to allow offline files/caching! (that's on by default - disable it)

2. Make sure the share permissions on profiles$ indicate everyone=full
control. Set the NTFS security to administrators, system, and users=full
control.

3. In the users' ADUC properties, specify \\server\profiles$\%username% in
the profiles field

4. Have each user log into the domain once - if this is an existing user
with a profile you wish to keep, have them log in at their usual
workstationand log out. The profile is now roaming.

5. If you want the administrators group to automatically have permissions to
the profiles folders, you'll need to make the appropriate change in group
policy. Look in computer configuration/administrative templates/system/user
profiles - there's an option to add administrators group to the roaming
profiles permissions. Do this *before* the users' roaming profile folders
are created - it isn't retroactive.

********************
Notes:

Make sure users understand that they should not log into multiple computers
at the same time when they have roaming profiles (unless you make the
profiles mandatory by renaming ntuser.dat to ntuser.man so they can't change
them, which has major disadvantages),. Explain that the 'last one out wins'
when it comes to uploading the final, changed copy of the profile. If you
want to restrict multiple simultaneous network logins, look at LimitLogon
(too much overhead for me), or this:
http://www.jsifaq.com/SF/Tips/Tip.aspx?id=8768

********************
Keep your profiles TINY. Via group policy, you should be redirecting My
Documents (at the very least) - to a subfolder of the user's home directory
or user folder. Also consider redirecting Desktop & Application Data
similarly..... so the user will end up with:

\\server\users\%username%\My Documents,
\\server\users\%username%\Desktop,
\\server\users\%username%\Application Data.

[Alternatively, just manually re-target My Documents to
\\server\users\%username% (this is not optimal, however!)]

You should use folder redirection even without roaming profiles, but it's
especially critical if you *are* using them.

If you aren't going to also redirect the desktop using policies, tell users
that they are not to store any files on the desktop or you will beat them
with a
stick. Big profile=slow login/logout, and possible profile corruption.

********************
Note that user profiles are not compatible between different OS versions,
even between W2k/XP. Keep all your computers. Keep your workstations as
identical as possible - meaning, OS version is the same, SP level is the
same, app load is (as much as possible) the same.

*********************
If you also have Terminal Services users, make sure you set up a different
TS profile path for them in their ADUC properties - e.g.,
\\server\tsprofiles$\%username%

********************
Do not let people store any data locally - all data belongs on the server.

********************
The User Profile Hive Cleanup Utility should be running on all your
computers. You can download it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=1B286E6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en

********************
Roaming profile & folder redirection article -
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Profile-Folder-Redirection-Windows-Server-2003.html
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